Reversi
by The Ship Sinker
Summary: Because the Noah genes could awaken in any human. If Allen, Kanda and the others are disciples of the Noah Clan, then who are the exorcists? A sort of silly, sort of serious fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own D. Gray-Man.

 **Seven Thousand Years**

 _December 25th_

 _Japan_

Once upon a time, he had been one of the many raggedy, hungering boys wasting in the streets. Abandoned by his parents in a foundling wheel and later left in the streets by an orphanage that overflowed with children, he had been nothing more than a dirty, starving mess, ignored as many others by the more fortunate part of society.

The deformities he would eventually understand were the result of Dark Matter made his life much harsher than that of the other street children. He was unwanted amidst the unwanted, and quickly learned that hiding his left eye and infected arm from others' sight should be as much of a priority as finding food. And no matter how many years had passed since then, if he closed his eyes he could still feel the cold wind hurting his skin, the painful hole in his stomach and the whole sickness it bought, the untreated wounds and unkind stares.

He flexed his left hand, that was the color of bloody flesh and roughened by Dark Matter. That arm and his pentagram were the only remnants of his previous misery that he still carried around, for it had been long ever since his body had been dressed in cheap clothes, and it felt like ages since the last time he looked for food in a trashcan. The teenager became instead a shining example of nobility, dressed in fine clothes, expensive shoes and the always present ribbon, a bright strand of color around his neck. Hands that used to be hidden with torn pieces of disposed clothing were now concealed by soft, clean gloves, and no one could see a fault in finding the clean, well cared for boy in such a beautiful, expansive mansion. He was as much a part of it as any of the lavish decorations there, made to delight the eyes.

He walked through the corridors lit by candles on golden chandeliers. The doors were almost uncountable, all in the same pattern of heavy dark wood and shiny handles. The wallpapers were tasteful and the carpet a beautiful, deep dark red. If he squinted, he could almost see the marks from when he was dragged through this same place he now walked so calmly in, kicking and screaming with a weak body that never truly had any chance of winning a fight.

Allen shook his head. The mansion repaired itself shortly after suffering any sort of damage; the marks would have been gone long ago. If he still saw them, it was because they were burned in his memory.

That day, his blood had created a beautiful contrast against the walls, but the decorated paper had restored to perfection and refused to tell any story of the occurrence, promising instead a false sort of comfort he never managed to indulge in.

Being taken from the streets and to a rich house where he was well fed and clothed should be something out of a fairytale. How many street children had dreamed of being related to well to do families, of being taken away from their poverty by noble parents who had been looking for them ever so anxiously? Who would whisker them away from suffering and shower them with comfort and love?

And even as he finished his walk and reached the large double doors that were only different ones in this side of the household, he honestly thought that perhaps it would have been better to be left where he was.

With apprehension, he steeled himself for an unpleasant experience that would surely bring about an unpleasant day, and opened the doors.

"Happy birthday, Allen-pon!" exclaimed the rotund man, clapping gloved hands in excitement before the boy even stepped inside. Allen looked at the dinner room. With dark walls filled by pictures of the past vessels of the Noah Clan and nothing more than candles to light the place, it was quite a somber setting. The table was the only bright spot in the room, covered by bright white fabric and filled by many dishes and, notably, a large cake in the center adorned by two number shaped candles, an one and a five.

"Thank you, Lord Millennium," said he amiably, before taking his spot in one of the tall, cushioned wooden chairs. As luck would have it, by both his sides sat the most cheery members of the family, second only to the Earl himself. Lenalee hugged his arm amiably, while Lavi whistled and showered him with confetti. The white haired boy's smile remained intact, eyes soft even as he felt the urge to flinch away from the attention.

The Millennium Earl proceeded then to hold Allen's party, or as much of a party it could be in this dysfunctional family. Every birthday here was celebrated, the presence of all mandatory unless for those otherwise occupied with the clan's dealings. That's the only reason Allen could imagine Socalo and Kanda being present. The first was an old Noah of such an insanely violent and cruel behavior Allen could barely look him in the eyes, and the former…

Allen regarded Kanda with a small frown. The Noah of Illusions sat the further away from them all, elbows over the table and fingers linked together. While he doubtlessly would be somewhere else were it not for the Earl's order, Kanda would mostly be closed off and stoic in their mandatory family dinners and celebrations. Today, however, the look on his face was of pure disgust and, upon noticing Allen's stare, he scowled fiercely before fixing the cake with a glare that could easily combust it. If not for their master's presence, Allen was quite sure Kanda would have done more than grace him with his hostile glower.

The angry Japanese man usually didn't bother Allen that terribly. Though they by no means got along, in times such as those of his birthday, he wished the others such as Lenalee and Lavi would be a little more… somber. The two would smile and present him with jokes and friendly smothering, but it felt wholly inappropriate. They were all prisoners of a lavish and large prison. Had they truly forgotten? Would Allen also learn to smile and laugh as if everything was alright after decades passed and he grew tired of fighting against the life destiny imposed him?

The whole affair was a tense ordeal for him, but Allen played his part, before graciously thanking the Earl and his _guests_ and leaving the dining table as the human-shaped Akuma reunited to clean the room. As per usual, he averted his eyes as soon as they entered, choosing to observe the ground instead, as he walked back to his room. He had refused to call anything here his own for a long while, but eventually grew weary of that. He needed some place to feel safe in. Being in his room meant he wasn't doing more unpleasant things and, as the Fourteenth, he had enough of a command over the Ark to at least be able to make sure he had privacy in the place he slept in.

He heard hasty steps coming behind him and, turning around, realized it was Kanda, who was leaving the room in a quick pace. Kanda was just going to get ahead of him when, on an impulse, Allen grabbed his arm.

The other's eyes widened, clear disgust marring his now white face as he snarled and quickly ripped his arm away from Allen's grasp as fast as one wanting to avoid an infection. Allen knew the unnatural nuance of a Noah's skin bothered Kanda, and thus he only wore it when necessary, always forcing his looks back to what he considered normal whenever possible. Allen stared firmly at the taller man, now pale skinned and dark eyed in his pretense of humanity.

Pondering about his next actions, he then decided to force himself back to his human appearance, too. Perhaps it would appease the man, who so much hated the grey pallor and golden eyes of their family.

"Kanda," said he, before staring to the two sides of the corridor and noticing they were alone. A mental command made him aware of their surroundings. Thanks to his unusual affinity with the Ark, no one would listen in or get close without his notice.

"What is it?" asked the other brusquely, clearly wanting to leave. Allen knew however that, should he push Kanda too far, the man wouldn't hesitate to attack.

He just didn't know what he had done to deserve such enmity.

"What is wrong, Kanda?" asked Allen, trying to sound as sincere as he could, because he _was_. There was the good and the bad and the pure _evil_ in the clan, but Allen knew Kanda wasn't one of the last of those. And despite the fact that Allen would typically eagerly return to Kanda twice the antagonism and violence the older Noah flung at him, such fights brought him no satisfaction. If he could only understand what was behind their problems…

"What? You expected me to enjoy your little party, you imbecile?"

Allen felt the usual anger rise at the unnecessary insult, but held it down. It wouldn't do to engage in violence here.

"You were quite sour today, Kanda. Even worse than usual. Care to say what's going on? There is no need for us to be like-"

To his surprise, Kanda's lips tilted up, but not in a pleasant way. A ferocious smirk was plastered upon Kanda's face, eyes burning with something that almost made Allen back down.

"Playing nice now, aren't you, beansprout?" asked him silkily and, right then, Allen knew he would rather have Kanda screaming and snarling at him than speaking him in that deceptively calm, poisonous voice. "I am not like your idiot little friends. I will _not_ fall for your games."

Allen's brow furrowed in honest confusion. "Games? Kanda-"

The other got closer to him, step by step until Allen hit the wall without noticing, and flinched at the surprise of the contact. Kanda approached him, lips hovering only a few centimeters from Allen's ear.

" _I hate your face,"_ whispered the Noah of Illusions fiercely, before shifting back to grey. Alarmed at Kanda's now golden eyes, Allen felt his world shift, walls and floor and ceiling distorting and the other Noah having disappeared. Every one of his senses was assaulted by sensations that couldn't be real but still disturbed his mind greatly. Feeling as if he was falling in an abysm of ugly colors and having his eardrums blasted by the noise of countless screams, he finally reverted back to his Noah form, calling to his awareness as the Musician to break the spell. Immediately, the corridor restored itself before him, even if he knew it had never truly disappeared; Allen fell to his knees and emptied his stomach over the rich carped, gasping and heaving until there was nothing left inside of it. When he finally lifted his head, Kanda was far away, already turning to another direction and disappearing from his sight.

Still unable to get up due to his confused senses, he leaned heavily against the wall and waited for the effect of Kanda's attack to pass.

He just had known this was bound to be a bad day.

 _January 12nd_

 _India_

Inside an invaded room, General Cross Marian stared at his two young, ragged apprentices as they sat in the floor before him. Yes, it was time. He had decided so, and the boys weren't going to become any better by staying with him anymore.

He was tired of playing the babysitter, anyway.

"Jasdero. Devit."

"Yes, Master," sang the two non-identical twins in unison. The dark haired Devit stared up at him with puzzled eyes, while the always absent minded Jasdero looked at the elephants that could be seen through the window as the circus animals played a performance in the street.

"It's been three years since you became my apprentices," started Cross, swirling the wine filled crystal glass held by gloved hand. "I think it is time you go out on your own…"

Devit sat straighter at that, black eyes shining with hope. Twirling a lock of blond hair in his fingers, Jasdero watched as one elephant performed a particularly difficult tricks.

"From today on," continued Cross, "you are exorcists."

As expected, the reaction was immediate. Devit stopped himself from jumping from his place in the floor, but started fidgeting in his kneeling position instead. " _Really?_ Did you hear that, Jasdero? Did you?"

" _But_ ," continued Cross, wanting to interrupt the overactive kid before he started one of his tirades, "to officially become an exorcist, you must go to the headquarters and meet the people there."

"Uh huh! Uh huh!" agreed Devit with a large smile, trying to poke his blond twin brother out of his reverie.

"You do know where the headquarters is, right?" asked Cross finally, getting up from his seat. This place was so damned hot, he couldn't wait to leave.

"Sorta. But it doesn't matter, huh? You are taking us there, right? Jasdero, stop looking at those stupid animals, damn it! We're exorcists!"

"Huh?" asked the boy with a tilted head, finally averting his eyes from the spectacle outside.

"Tough luck, brats," said Cross, grasping a weapon that definitely wasn't his Innocence and raising it. "I dislike the headquarters."

The shadow of the large hammer hovered ominously over the two fifteen year old boys. "M-Master?" Gasped Devit, finally realizing something was _very wrong_.

"When you wake up," continued Cross, "go forth. I'll have my golem accompany you guys."

"W-wait!" exclaimed Devit, and then turned and shook his twin by the shoulders. "Wake up, Jasdero! He's going to-"

The blond smiled, finally picking up with the excitement in the room. "Ooh? We're exor-"

Cross stared at the teenage exorcists as they lay unconscious in a messy pile. Tincampy floated around them, and all was well, he told himself. They had guns, which were basically the most splendid type of Innocence there was. They'd be fine.

Feeling the relief of getting rid of the two little horrors flooding his very essence, he wondered where he should go to now. South America, perhaps? They had sweet tourist spots. Then again, he also missed Anita, so China was always an option. Perhaps he would even deal with that Akuma Egg crap later, if he was in a good mood and felt generous.

 _January 31_ _st_

 _England_

"Look, Mary!" whispered a young woman to her friend. "An exorcist!"

"And what a dashing one, Anna," Mary giggled.

They weren't the only ones talking about the city's newcomer, though the majority of the whisperers were certainly female. The center of their attentions preened under their appreciative gazes, chest inflating under the well tailored Black Order uniform.

"Yes, yes, I'm an exorcist," said the curly haired man with a smug smile, waving to the swooning women as a gentle king would to his subjects.

The man by his side, in much more modest clothes and carrying a large backpack, coughed in his fist and shifted embarrassedly. "Master Mikk… perhaps you shouldn't attract so much attention…"

"This cloak is to chicks like honey is to bees, I'm telling you," said Tyki, ignoring the Finder with ease. "Damn, if I had known I would have tailored myself one much before I became an exorcist."

Toma was speechless. "That would be illegal, sir. Now, according to our instructions, the Innocence is meant to be at chapel of Ar-"

 _"Arturo Fuente!"_

"What? No, Master Mikk, I'm sure the chapel is named Arch of-"

"No, no. I'm talking the about the cigars," said Tyki in annoyance, pointing at a luxury shop's display. In it rested many expensive looking items, including a case of cigars the tall exorcist was pointing to. "I can't believe they have it here. I haven't had some of those for a while," said he, marching decidedly towards the shop.

The Finder was clearly outraged. "Master Mikk! A Black Priest should not act in such a manner, it is wholly inappropriate! Moreover, we are quite late to our mission!"

The poor man's protests continued from the moment he followed Tyki to the shop to the moment they came back, with a bag filled with an obscene amount of the cigars. Tyki had one between his lips already, and took a long drag before letting the smoke out slowly, looking so pleased it seemed a little indecent.

"Now, if you don't mind," growled the Finder, clearly forgetting protocol in his annoyance, "would you please-"

" _AN EXORCIST!"_

 _At least it isn't another woman_ , thought the Finder, trying to console himself as two dirty kids dressed in ruined rags made their way towards Tyki.

"Hey, you!" exclaimed the dark haired one, pointing rudely towards the rose cross over Tyki's chest. "Help us," said the kid, in a voice that demanded more than asked for anything.

"Help us, help us," whined the other, who had long blond hair and was much filthier than his companion. They were truly pitiable and seemed desperate, as if fleeing from something.

Tyki stared at the teenagers with disgust. "Do I look like a charity? Get the hell out, you grubby beggars. I'm busy." And to prove his point, he took another long drag and leaned against a light post, making sure to blow the smoke on the kids' faces. For some reason, the love struck ladies seemed to find that absolutely endearing of him.

Toma was starting to hate this man more and more.

After they stopped coughing, the dark haired one growled. "You don't get it, we're…"

"…exorcists!" completed the blond, eyes wide and mouth opened as if she was some maniac.

Tyki laughed heartily. "Hah, that's a good one! I just wish there were some Akuma around, then I could throw you two lo… sers…"

The sight of two golden revolvers pointed at his face effectively baffled Tyki to the point where his cigar fell to the floor, forgotten.

"Huh…"

" _We're exorcists!"_ They exclaimed in unison. _"Take us to the Black Order!"_

"Okaay," came the very subdued response.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own D. Gray-Man.

 **Seven Thousand Years**

 _February 2nd_

 _A place_

The Earl must amuse himself by tormenting his so called family, he thought surly, angrily following his partner for the day. Ever since their first meeting and catastrophic fight, the rotund man had decided to pair the duo as frequently as possible, even in situations where the idiot albino's abilities were absolutely useless.

Then again, when was he ever useful?

"Where the hell are we, beansprout?" he asked the shorter Noah, not missing the way the other's head would turn here and there, more in confusion than in any display of recognition. "Do you even know?"

"Of course I do," said Allen's voice, the confident tone unfitting of the nervous glances that denounced a lost person. "It's just… around here…somehow."

"Hopeless bastard. Because of you, missions always take longer than they should," complained Kanda. "You've been there before. What is the difficulty of finding it again?"

Instead of answering, however, Allen remained silent, walking ahead as if Kanda had said nothing. The man fumed in indignation. He hated most of the missions he was assigned to, and Walker's incompetency only served to delay the troublesome affairs. Worse than that, the boy would always try to act like a pacifist.

A few pushes here and there, though, and he would reveal his true colors. Walker could be incredibly unpleasant when pressed enough, and Kanda found it much better than that stupid façade of a friendly idiot.

"Let me guess," continued Kanda mercilessly, angrily swatting another branch out of his way. "You used a random, inconspicuous tree as your reference point, didn't you? In a fucking forest, right?" Reddening scraps and blemishes littered his arms, marks left by pointy twigs and insect bites, while the dark skinned Allen seemed untouched. Nonetheless, Kanda found the sight of his white and tarnished skin much more tolerable than any grey, unmarred one, and thus couldn't enjoy the benefits of a Noah's healing as of now.

But even after he said that, there was more silence, the only noise that of their steps over crunchy, dry leaves.

"You're useless. Aren't you the Noah who deals with eyesight and transportation? Can't you even do this simple task?"

"Shut up," came the unexpected angry snarl, so vicious Kanda faltered for a moment, before he shoved the boy's back furiously.

"Make me, you little shit!"

* * *

" _-scatter this bastard's guts all over this forest-"_

"Shut up," Allen snarled to the voice, unable to be silent anymore. Not only did he have to deal with Kanda's incessant tirade, but he also had his homicidal Noah murmuring about murder inside his head. Together, both the Japanese man and the bothersome Noah memory were making him insane.

A strong shove to his back made him trip and fall, and he stared at Kanda in indignant shock.

"Make me, you little shit!" Kanda shouted, and Allen raised a brow in utter confusion before realizing it had sounded as if he had told Kanda to be silent.

Not that he didn't want he to, anyway.

"I didn't mean to say that to you," murmured Allen as he got up and continued his march, but knew making peace was impossible.

"What the hell was that, then?"

Annoyed and also feeling his patience grow thin, Allen rolled his eyes. "I was just talking to the voice in my head that tells me to kill you," answered he honestly.

" _I said it and I will repeat, we should just exterminate him,"_ insisted said voice yet again, and Allen's eye twitched irritably. Though doing some damage to that rude bastard would please Allen's wounded ego quite a bit, it would also bring about bothersome consequences.

 _Be silent. That would only do us harm,_ he said mentally, remembering not to externalize his thoughts, lest Kanda decided Allen was talking to him again.

" _He doesn't know our true potential,"_ continued Nea as if Allen had said nothing, _"He believes our skills are limited to visualization and transportation. Show him the Musician's true powers. A swift swing of my blade to his neck-"_

 _I won't buy your fights with the Illusionist. Be quiet._

Allen's Noah representation, the Musician, hated Kanda's own Noah memory, the Illusionist, fiercely. Initially, Allen had imagined Kanda's hostility towards him was due to the Japanese succumbing to his Noah's wishes and personality. Kanda didn't seem to have this weak a character, however, and never understood Allen's hints about a voice inside the white haired boy's head, so Allen decided that he didn't have one as of now.

Just Allen's luck, to be the only Noah with an insane personality trying to dominate his every thought. But he wouldn't allow Nea to take over – too much had been taken from him already.

The blade would stay where it was – attached to him in the deceptive form of an ugly arm.

* * *

 _England_

Though initially dumbfounded, it didn't take long for Tyki to take control over the situation. People could call him many things in the Order – addicted smoker, unstoppable gambler, womanizer, lazy, amoral, rude – alright, they called him _many_ things, but damn if he wasn't a powerful exorcist.

He only needed a few seconds to regain his bearings and pretend compliance to the two ugly kids' demands. He then dematerialized, easily ripping the guns away from their owners' hands while choosing to have the bullet shots pass through him without any consequence.

Someone screamed and a commotion started behind him, and the Finder, Tony or something, went crazy and ran towards whatever it was, but Tyki paid it all no mind.

Holding the weapons and knowing they were indeed Innocence, he pocketed them safely and knocked the flabbergasted brats down. They _were_ exorcists, so he would take them to the Order indeed.

Dumb brats. If it was Tyki, he'd enjoy the secrecy and never have anyone know he was an accommodator. Oh, well. The first days of whipping in the Order would surely be a good way to start their lifetime of regret.

"Tony!" he called the Finder. "Let go of that bleeding dude and get me some gloves! We are taking these smelly imps with us."

* * *

They had been close to the headquarters anyway, so it wasn't a long travel, though Tony had insisted in helping the bleeding guy he had been tending to. Tyki honestly couldn't understand what some random hurt fellow had to do with them, but the Finder had been sort of hysterical, so Tyki waited in exasperation as he went to look for medical help.

"Gatekeeper, let us in," he called once back in the Order, staring up at the frankly disturbing thing. He would never get used to it.

"I need to check on the newcomers," thundered the gate, and Tyki shrugged, presenting it the blond haired kid he'd been dragging by the hair, while Tony set the other he'd been carrying on his back more carefully on the ground. A creepy x-ray shone over them all, making Tyki wonder whether this was how some girls felt when he leered at them, and he felt some guilt.

But it passed fast.

"Alright! They are clean! You may enter, exorcists," boomed it dramatically.

Tyki covered his hurting ears in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, thank you very much," grumbled he, now grabbing the blondie by a foot. Dragging the dead weight was easier now that he walked upon polished floor, instead of the rough stones of before. The Order guards stared at them in surprise, likely wondering what in the world was happening.

" _TWO NEW EXORCISTS!_ " exclaimed him like a pizza delivery guy would, before releasing his battered burden. "Okay, I'm out."

He immediately turned to leave, but an enormous and, in his opinion, unnecessary commotion started, as everyone ran to attend to the two children.

"Exorcists?"

"It can't be!"

"Master Mikk, what-"

" _Ora, pelo amor de Deus_ ," grumbled Tyki, crossing his arms. "I said two new exorcists. Found the vagrants stealing food and bothering the good folk of the city down there, so I thought it would be better to bring the delinquents in. Surely you can take care of the rest."

"Of course, of course! But are you absolutely sure they are exorcists?" asked Komui Lee, the head of the Order's European Branch.

Tyki handed him the guns. They seemed useful, and would be a cooler option to attack Akuma instead of using his butterflies (which he loved but were sort of embarrassing), but he knew better than to try to wield someone else's Innocence.

"They had these weapons, and they have crosses drawn in then, so I thought well, why not."

"Amazing!" exclaimed Komui, taking the golden guns reverently. "Why, Tyki, you are incredible! To find two new exorcists, at once!"

Well, now that he thought of it, that was indeed a rare feat. Even if the kids came to him themselves, already wielding Innocence and knowing how to use it, and declaring themselves exorcists, and…

Alright, not so amazing in the end.

"Okay, I've got a mission," said he, unsuccessfully trying to leave for the second time.

"Wait, Tyki!" exclaimed the scientist, cradling the stinking, unconscious brats as if they were jewels. "You should stay as we wake them up and examine their Innocence!"

"But the mission-"

"Consider it canceled. Now come."

"Bother," grumbled he, following the excited procession.

* * *

 _France_

It was usually cool to speak English outside England, but people didn't seem so friendly in this country for some reason. So he just smiled and nodded to the people here in the same way his new Finder instructed him to.

For some reason, Tony had refused to accompany him. Well, he wasn't needed anyway, thought Tyki in annoyance, enjoying his cigar.

He followed the Finder who had pointed out the place where he suspected Innocence could be found. Trailing after Tyki were the two kids of days ago, and he tried to ignore their blabbering.

Jade and Debit were their names, or something like that, and Jade insisted she was a guy. Tyki honestly didn't give a shit, he just knew the blondie had a loose screw, and he speculated whether it was because he dragged the kid on her back for kilometers over grass and earth and rocks, but damn if he would have let the stinky kid touch him.

To Tyki's surprise, their appearances were quite fine once they got rid of all that grime and put their new uniforms on. According to their story, general Cross Marian had sent them from India without a coin so they would get to the headquarters, and they had been cleaning, gambling, cheating and earning housing and food for themselves and their mentor for the last three years, as per the Official Exorcist Trainee Program.

Tyki already heard Cross was badass, but now he was sure the man was a legend.

"When will we kill Akuma? When, when?"

"Exorcists, we are exorcists!"

Tyki rolled his eyes. Somewhere in a forest, a loud and ethereal lament could be heard by travelers and citizens alike. Worried, they reported it to the Black Order. No one could find its source, but it sang of torment, suffering and the need to kill, so he had been sent to investigate. If that was Innocence, it was a creepy one, he thought.

He'd find it, sit on his ass and let the brats fight any Akuma in the way and go back as soon as possible, because –

"-are exorcists, we are exorcists!"

– these kids were making him insane.

"Shut up, Jade. Damn, you are an annoying girl."

"He's a boy," grumbled Debit, "and his name is Jasdero!"

Debit seemed more normal and even sort of smart, if not for the fact that he didn't even know his sister's gender. Tyki blew more smoke to his face and watched as the boy coughed viciously. The Portuguese man smiled. This would never get old.

Ahead of them, the Finder snickered, and Tyki felt his heart warm for the man. _There, take that, Tony. I've found someone much better than you._

"Would you like a smoke, mister…"

"Oh, thank you, Master Mikk," smiled the bearded man, lighting the offered cigar immediately. "I'm Nick."

* * *

Devit kicked a stone out of his way, mood fouler than it had been during his long travel from India with his brother, and that was saying something.

After such a long and horrible travel, the twins had been absolutely battered, and couldn't express their relief at finding an exorcist. It would be easy to get to the Order then, they had thought, but it was all in vain. The conceited man had dismissed them as trash and refused to help and, once the twins attacked, he had easily disarmed both of them and knocked the boys unconscious.

Devit remembered waking up in an infirmary, leaving his bed, then getting hit by an angry nurse for leaving the bed. Then a mad scientist came in and told him to leave the bed anyway. Jasdero had been by his side, but he was still unconscious and seemed to be in a much worse state than Devit himself, which was a surprise. The blond twin had bandages all over, and the scientist explained most of his clothes had been ruined in the travel somehow and his back and legs had been scrapped raw by ground friction.

After making it clear he wouldn't be going anywhere without his brother, they waited until Jasdero awoke and took them both to get new clothes. Then they had been sent to a scary room where an enormous, white glowing monster grabbed them with its tentacles and said they had a good synchronization or whatever, and then they had been told their first mission would be with the same bastard who brought them in, Tyki Mikk. Devit told them they hadn't eaten for days, so the mad scientist gave them each a sandwich and practically shoved them out of the tower they barely got a glance of.

Now they were following Mikk, who wouldn't say their names properly, insisted Jasdero was a chick and would blow smoke in their faces all the time. You would think they would have gotten a certain resistance after living with Cross for so long, but even the general wasn't that much of a bastard.

And then all of a sudden Mikk and that Nick guy became best pals and were smoking and laughing together and blowing the toxic fumes on the twins' faces as if it was the most hilarious thing in the world, and damn, Devit didn't think this was what being an exorcist would be like! At least Jasdero was somewhat happy, he thought, looking at his blond brother with fondness. Jasdero only knew they were exorcists and was glad because of that, ignoring most of their misfortune. He had always lived in his own world.

They finally entered the forest, a wet and dark place that allowed little sunlight. It wasn't too bothersome, and could even be enjoyable, if not by the constant laughs from the two men ahead, who were bonding over crude jokes and cancer sticks.

It was after a couple hours of walk that it started – a low, almost imperceptible moaning voice, pitiful to its very core. Alerted by that, the elder exorcist and the Finder thankfully grew quiet and followed the sound. As they got closer and closer, Devit could hear some intelligible words about pain and loneliness and _why are you still alive_ , and he held a mouth over Jasdero's mouth so his brother's "we are exorcists" song wouldn't interfere with their listening.

"Now," said Mikk as they clearly got closer to the mysterious source of the sad whispers and moans, " Do you hear the malevolent voices? This is where we are going to look for the Innocence. Evil monsters may appear any time and try to suck your souls, so you better watch out-"

"We've killed Akuma before, you know," snapped Devit.

Tyki seemed disappointed. "Oh, darn. Well, I hope we find something much worse then, you cheeky tot. Let's go."

* * *

 _France_

"-and it's been almost a whole day already. I say we go back to the Ark and you explain to the Earl you lost it-"

Kanda surely had a mouth on him, pondered Allen as Nea's murderous thoughts and his own became more and more alike. Alright, Allen would never want to kill the other Noah, but he was just this close to doing just what the Musician said and showing Kanda he could do more than play songs.

"-can't find your way out of a closet! You should be able to do two things, open portals and find shit, but not even that-"

And amidst Kanda's unceasing yammering, Allen miraculously heard _something –_

"-figures. I bet someday you will fuck up with a portal too, and we will be torn between dimensions-"

Allen sighed. "Kanda, wait, I have heard a voice."

"-won't fight, won't find crap, and then won't travel either, that's just amazing-"

Under a pentacle, a golden eye twitched. "Kanda, please…"

"-Noah of Uselessness, that should be your-"

"Oh, ENOUGH!" shouted Allen, clamping a hand over Kanda's mouth and finding his delight in the wonderful silence. Kanda's eyes were wide as saucers and comical, as the man clearly wasn't expecting his current predicament. "Listen," said Allen.

Kanda tried to bite Allen's palm, but he had used his left one and thus the older Noah couldn't left even a scratch. "Listen," repeated Allen, just as Kanda's pale skin flickered dangerously towards grey and, thankfully, the man stopped fighting.

" _Crush and tear and rip apart… kill, kill, please die…"_

"He's nearby," said Allen, removing his hand. Kanda listened to the sad chanting some more.

"Fuck. Finally," said the tall Japanese, dashing towards the voice's source. Allen sagged in relief. Now they just had to get it and go back. God knew he needed a reprieve from Kanda's presence and a nice meal.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own D. Gray-Man.

 **Seven Thousand Years**

 _France_

The three exorcists and the finder seemed to have finally got to the origin of the depressing sounds and what should be the cause of them – the Innocence.

"Oh, it's a rock," perceived Tyki sagely.

"Can't wait to see an exorcist fighting with that," said Nick.

" _Crush, munch, tear apart…"_

"Hey, look, there's something here," Tyki said, approaching the rock and retrieving a playing card from the ground. His eyebrows shot up once he saw whatever was drawn in it.

The others decided to take a look at it, too. _Inside_ the card, and not simply drawn on it, was a miniature humanoid of sorts. Dressed in striped pajamas and donning a mask depicting utter sadness, it had a broom on its hand and was trapped in a 3d cell that somehow existed in the paper. In the walls of the bizarre place were many names of people, written in truly horrible calligraphy.

"So the Innocence isn't the rock," said the Finder, disappointed.

"Creepy," said Tyki.

"T-Tyki Mikk!" exclaimed the little trapped thing. "It's Tyki Mikk! Kill, kill! Die, you must _die!"_

"Die, Tyki Mikk!" agreed Jasdero joyfully.

"I like that Innocence," said Devit.

"Oh, shut your traps," grumbled Tyki. "Man, that's the weirdest Innocence I've found, and I've seen some shitty ones."

"What do we do now?"

Tyki grinned. "Now we go back to the city, enjoy some sightseeing, visit tourist spots and amusing places and then go back to the Order a month later, saying we spent all this time trapped into another dimension by the Innocence or something."

"It's good to have your guidance, master exorcist," said Nick, decidedly pleased.

The dark skinned exorcist smirked. "Yes, it is. Alright! Nick, Debit, let's go. I'll show you some nice sights. Not you though, Jade. Brothels are no place for girls."

Jasdero frowned. "I'm a-"

"Excuse me," said a very polite voice.

Everyone turned towards the sound. Standing on a very high branch many meters from the ground was a teenager who could only be described as _white_ – white hair, white skin, light grey eyes. His semblance was utterly calm and soft. Weren't it for the dark colored, rich outfit he donned, the lad could be easily mistaken for an ethereal entity.

"Wow, hello there, boy," said Tyki, ogling the newcomer, because he could appreciate beauty regardless of gender.

"Um, hi," said the boy, not looking as comfortable as he had originally been. He coughed on his fist. "Er. That card is, sort of mine. So, could I… oh Lord, please stop eyeing me like that!"

Tyki didn't stop. The boy blanched.

" _Beansprout_! What the hell are you doing there?" called another voice, much different than that of the first stranger. This one was rougher, more masculine and definitely irate.

"Anyway," continued Allen, now trying to hurry, "would you please give me the card?"

Tyki winked. "Come and get it here, gorgeous."

"Eeh…?"

From the woods now emerged another figure: an Asian man, tall and long haired, handsome face marred by an ugly scowl, seeming a little haggard though also dressed in lavish, albeit a little beaten up, clothes.

"I'm talking to you, beansprout!"

"Roron is there," said Allen, pointing towards Tyki's hand. "Go get it."

Kanda raised an eyebrow, but then noticed the cross over the chest of three of the four strangers. " _Che_ , coward," he said, before marching towards them.

Allen frowned. Kanda would always throw that insult towards him. It wasn't like the white haired boy couldn't understand: in order to hide his abilities, Allen would always avoid fights, letting the other Noah take care of them instead. It was actually the topic of many jokes in the clan – he was the Musician, the weakest Noah, useless extraordinaire.

He couldn't, however, understand why Kanda was insulting him this time. Allen wouldn't mind taking the card from the human's hands at all, if not for the fact that he feared for his virtue. The Japanese's countenance was positively aggressive as he approached that depraved guy, and his skin started turning into the dark grey the man had avoided for so long – it seemed like they wouldn't get Roron back without a violent conflict. Shrugging, Allen mentally washed his hands. Let Kanda be molested. See if he cared.

Kanda immediately called forth his Dark Matter weapon, Mugen. The sword's black blade should reflect no light, yet it seemed to shine dangerously nonetheless. Allen tensed, knowing what that meant. Kanda was serious about this battle, and that surprised him.

Exorcists were their mortal enemies, the ones the Earl wanted destroyed no matter what. Allen was never sent in missions where he could find them by himself because exorcists were the ones with the power to destroy the Noah family and Akuma. Assuming Allen powerless, the Earl would want the boy to avoid such situations. Allen stared down at the curly haired man and suppressed his wish to look for a cover. That wasn't exactly what he had imagined exorcists would be like.

Then Allen looked down at the two kids by the pervert's side. A boy and a… girl? One's hair was short and black and the other's was a long, wavy blond. They were both wide eyed with fear… or excitement? They seemed quite younger than him, though they also donned the crosses that marked them as enemies. That seemed so… wrongof the Black Order. Allen had thought only the Noah family forced children to fight.

He watched the battle between the two – the human who wasn't an exorcist was irrelevant and knew it, as he had already placed himself in a spot faraway. Allen would keep an eye on him though, as Order members could be tricky even without Innocence, or at least that was what Lavi had said once, having returned to the Ark in less than a good state.

Kanda started fighting with his Illusions which, despite their name, were far more than mind tricks. The only part of them that could truly be considered an illusion was the fact that they took the appearance of many different things, usually elements of nature turned into lethal form, but the Dark Matter that sustained them was no deception. The tall exorcist, almost the same height as Kanda, seemed to be able to conjure butterflies. Allen thought that a little pathetic – that is, until one of them actually touched Kanda and managed to take out a chunk of his arm.

Allen almost jumped out of his skin.

" _Kanda?"_ he shouted in alarm, approaching the two fighting men. The butterfly had been destroyed, and Allen watched it fall to the ground and dissolve into nothing, but not before he caught its disturbing features – though the wings were beautiful and elegant, with intriguing patterns that made him think of poker cards, the body was a large skull, teeth still biting into what Allen noticed was a piece of his fellow clansman.

Kanda's arm was dripping dark blood and started regenerating, but just the fact that he had actually gotten injured while in his Noah form was a reason for alarm. The man, now much more aware of the danger, had activated his Second Illusion style; That almost calmed Allen down, but that was before the children activated their Innocence – Allen could feel the pulse of threatening energy, so dangerous to his kind, even from far away. They had identical weapons – guns, and when they pointed them at Kanda with crazed smiles, Allen knew nothing good would come out of it.

"Kanda! Watch out," he called, and the man managed to jump out of the bullets' way just in time. Allen had expected to see two small holes in the floor; instead, both projectiles exploded as soon as they made contact with the earth, leaving two trails of equally powerful ice and fire that, fueled by Innocence as they were, would likely have rendered Kanda to bits.

"Oh my God," said Allen, now so desperate he actually left his tree and started running towards the Illusionist. "Kanda! Be careful!" he shouted, even as Nea cackled, wishing the Illusionist would be smashed to bits.

"You," snarled Kanda, dodging another bullet and slashing his blade in a vicious attack towards the dark skinned exorcist, "Shut your mouth before I cut your tongue off!"

"B-but…"

"It's not like you can be of help, now can you?" shouted Kanda, his rage very much implying Allen could be his next target.

The exorcist unfortunately managed to avoid Kanda's strike, that ended hitting a couple of trees and cutting cut cleanly in two pieces that fell loudly to the ground. Meanwhile, the two children continued shooting with their surprisingly powerful weapons, having noticed their distractions were helping their ally, and the forest quickly became a mess of burning fire, chunks of ice, flesh eating butterflies and Kanda's own illusions. The once peaceful place became a war zone.

No, Allen couldn't be of help… or could he? In all honesty, he could very well aid in the fight, and felt a strong urge to do so; but that would mean revealing his abilities to the Earl. Though the Noah Clan's patriarch wasn't present, it was a fact that Kanda hated his guts and wouldn't hesitate to report everything. Kanda disliked the Earl very much, but that could be overridden by the hatred he felt towards Allen himself. No, it wouldn't do: not only it suited Allen to appear utterly defenseless, but he knew terrible punishment awaited him should the Millennium Earl understand he had been lying for years.

But… Kanda was at risk here, and the Japanese hadn't managed to make Allen truly hate him yet.

"I think I can actually help," decided Allen, so easily disregarded as irrelevant that no one in the battle even spared him a thought, despite the fact that his skin was now turning to the same grey as Kanda's. Seeing as he remained ignored, Allen focused on the field, enhancing his vision and also readying a link to his place in the Ark. He waited for some tense seconds for the right moment, and then it happened: Kanda jumped towards the man in an offensive, a trail of carnivorous butterflies following his back. Allen opened a door right between Noah and exorcist and Kanda, unable to stop his momentum, went right through; as soon as he knew Kanda had landed safely into the other dimension Allen called the portal off. It closed with a loud bang, trapping one butterfly and smashing it before disappearing.

Everyone seemed speechless. "Wha…" started Mikk, but Allen knew this surprise of his was an only chance; he ran towards the exorcist, despite instinct telling him not to; grabbing the as of now forgotten Cell Roron from the man's pocket, Allen wasted no time in opening a door for himself and leave hastily through it, only seeing a flash of surprised brown eyes before the portal closed at his command.

* * *

Everyone stayed silent for a while. It was sort of anticlimactic, what with the loud and catastrophic battle of life or death that had been going just a mere seconds ago, but it was not every day that you saw magical black doors of doom appearing out of thin air to teleport enemies away.

"So, we walk like miserable peasants, occasionally taking free rides in mundane trains and carriages," mumbled Tyki, feeling quite bitter, "whereas our opponents travel with badass skull portals in a matter of seconds."

The kids seemed to agree with him this time, as they had decided to remain blessedly quiet.

"Well, we lost the Innocence," said the Finder who, after a few minutes, deemed it safe to leave the cozy place he'd found inside a dead tree. Thick smoke still floated out of its holes, as the man had never abandoned his cigars. "But at least it was them who chickened out first."

* * *

 _Japan_

Allen felt himself being pulled by his shirt's collar as soon as the door closed behind him. Kanda was over him in a second, and Roron's cries went ignored as the man stared down at Allen with hateful golden eyes.

"What was that for?"

" _What was that for?"_ Allen repeated incredulously. "You were losing that battle, Kanda. I got us out of it. More importantly, we have Roron," said he, raising the card.

The man's eyes widened fractionally at that, and his grip slackened. Well, before Allen came through, from Kanda's point of view, they had failed their mission.

"I wasn't losing," protested Kanda instead. "That is _your_ specialty."

"You were clearly getting backed into a corner, Kanda. Three exorcists! It was obvious how that would end-"

"I could have finished them all with a Third Illusion."

"But you didn't," said Allen, a frown marring his brow. "Come to think of it, you were truly angry, and wouldn't hesitate to kill them. You must have a reason not to use your more powerful fighting style, right? Are you-"

Kanda pushed Allen towards the wall roughly and the Noah's body hit it, hard. Allen shouldn't be surprised, he simply shouldn't, but this just made no sense. With Kanda, it never did.

"Sometimes I think you look for reasons to be angry, even when there is none," said Allen, assessing the cracks his impact had made.

"Sometimes _I_ think you can't mind your own business," snapped Kanda, but he seemed somewhat… tired. "Where are we?" said he, finally noticing this place was unfamiliar.

"My room," said Allen, uncomfortable all of a sudden. It was strange, having Kanda here. And after their horrible day together, he just wanted the man to go.

Kanda glanced around – the walls were a dark, stripped grey and the floor was black. The furniture was dark mahogany, the large bed covered by black fabric. Above it, on the wall, was a large framed picture – a caricature of a crying clown, smiling widely even as the dark holes that should be its eyes leaked tears. Its back was hunched from carrying a large coffin to which it was chained, and the scenery behind was that of a dark night, pictured to be as frightening as possible.

"Psycho," grumbled Kanda, before looking for a door. "How do I leave, beansprout?"

Allen blinked, before understanding his mistake. With a wave of his hand, a door appeared in the wall closest to Kanda. Unlike Allen's other doors, this one seemed made out of ordinary wood and, if not for the fact that it had just appeared out of nowhere, anyone would have thought it had always been a part of the bedroom.

Kanda crossed his arms over his chest, his skin and eyes having returned to normal. "Is this the only way to enter or leave?"

"Yes," said Allen, happy to broach a subject even Kanda would probably find no way to turn into an argument. "My control over the Ark is limited, but it allowed me to create one room. No one can enter here but myself." It was, after all was said and one, one of the reasons for which he had been able to remain sane. Privacy.

Kanda seemed intrigued and it looked as if he was going to ask something else, but then he shook his head. "Lucky you," he said instead, walking towards the newly made door. "Where does this take me?"

"One of the buildings further away from the main tower," said Allen, watching as the man opened it and indeed found himself in an empty, white, rarely used street. Kanda started to leave. "Hey! Aren't you going to return Roron?" asked Allen, trying to give the card to the Japanese.

"You take it, and deal with our dear patriarch yourself," said he moodily, stepping outside and leaving.

Watching his back as he walked away, Allen felt an impulse he couldn't control. "Um, Kanda," said he, but the older Noah didn't stop. "Er… this is the place where you can find my room, you know? It doesn't change. So if you ever wish to come by…" Kanda finally stopped, and the incredulous and _affronted_ glare he sent Allen made the boy wince. _Bad idea_. "Oh, whatever. Leave already, you gloomy introvert!" exclaimed he, more courageous now that he was out of the other Noah's reach. Allen slammed the door closed and willed it to disappear.

Once alone in his room, he held the card, knowing he had to hand it to the Millennium Earl as soon as possible. Cell Roron… the keeper of the names of the people the Earl wanted dead. This meant they would have a lot of unpleasant missions from now on.

And though he should be worried about that, all the white haired Noah could think about was the surprised look he saw in Kanda's eyes, for a second only, after Allen had said his last words.

Of course, he could've been imagining things.

* * *

 _February 23rd_

 _England_

It was the talk of the Order – three exorcists and a Finder disappeared for a month, only to return looking quite healthy and merry, but without any sign of the Innocence around.

Inside Komui Lee's office, said team sat amidst the growing piles of ignored paperwork.

"And then, after countless days lost in a dimension of darkness and evil, we finally managed to get out through a… a…"

"Magic black portal," said Nick the Finder.

Tyki snapped his fingers. "That's right! Appeared out of nowhere, it did, before expelling us."

Komui listened to the report in silence, before he took a large gulp of coffee from his pink bunny mug. "And the Innocence?"

"It… um…" the Finder actually ran out of ideas.

"It exploded," Tyki clarified, "burning away all the money you gave us."

"And leaving us smelling like alcohol and women," continued the Finder.

"…I think that's enough, Nick."

"Anyway, it was very weird, Branch Head."

Komui stared, and they stared back. A bead of sweat ran down the Finder's back. Then the scientist clapped his hands and leaned back in his chair. "Well, that's too bad, then. I hope you aren't too traumatized. Thank you for your hard work, boys! You should take the next days off."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 _February 23_ _rd_

 _England_

"The Order has gathered so many Innocence pieces that remain unused… it's time to find new accommodators!" Exclaimed Reever one day, angrily hitting his desk after making sure to take any breakables away from it. That sort of ruined the dramatic effect. "I say we search for every single Kamelot family member, from brothers and sisters to twentieth degree cousins!"

No one in the Science Division complained or even let out any sort of reaction; Reever had been a promising young man full of hopes and dreams before joining the Order, lured by one of those "Help the greater cause! Save the world" pamphlets that didn't tell prospective employees they would basically become slaves. Komui had been making the once sane scientist lose a screw or two a day, and half the exorcists were so unbalanced they were no good, either. So the majority of them just sighed and returned to their tasks.

"Reever, _we_ could be the Kamelot's twentieth degree cousins," complained Tap. "That's far too much."

"So what? I think that insane family proves it that being an accommodator can be a genetic trait."

Indeed, the Kamelot family's story was an interesting one.

Once upon a time, or eight years ago to be exact, General Bell had been travelling across Portugal, when one of the Innocence pieces she carried resonated and synchronized with Sheril Kamelot, a politician who always swore being honest even though he managed to quickly build mansions and buy the most lavish things that would cost him hundreds of his monthly salary. Suffice to say, he had been quite happy where he was, but an exorcist was more required than a minister and he was dragged away from his home by the Order. A few of the more outspoken Crow guards said there had been much kicking and screaming involved.

Furious with their manhandling of his person and the destitution of his post without his consent, Kamelot had thrown a fit, holding his baby girl in his arms and tearfully saying he couldn't possibly be separated from her. Before they could even get close to Hevlaska though, a piece of Innocence decided to synchronize with the mentioned three years old Road, at which the Order superiors smiled and said the problem was solved, after all.

Panicked by then, the once Minister sent a missive to his brother, Tyki Mikk, an eighteen years old without any sort of political connections or, as rumors had it, a brain. The long letter, filled with flamboyant words and pleasantries, basically ordered the young man to _do something_. Mikk came to the Order laughing his ass off and ready to say a final goodbye to his brother, before… the obvious happened.

A crystal being studied in the science department synchronized with him while he passed by one of the corridors nearby, and Mikk became the proud owner of a parasitic Innocence in the form of very tiny, very colorful butterflies. Sheril almost ruptured his spleen laughing, despite his own dire situation.

After that the whole Order, including the Central, went crazy. An entire family of exorcists was unheard of, and they proceeded to drag even the bedridden Tricia Kamelot and basically shove her in Hevlaska's way, but there were no results from the blonde woman. Assuming this was only confirmation that the Kamelot brothers themselves carried a genetic trait, they proceeded to look for any family members left, but Sheril and Tyki's parents were long deceased, Sheril's older son Wisely was adopted and there were no cousins to speak of.

Central wasn't very subtle when requesting the two exorcist siblings to fight Akuma, lay their lives for the Order and _procreate_ , but Sheril had tearfully explained that Tricia became sterile after having Road and that he wouldn't cheat the mother of his precious child; Road was out of question due to being practically a baby.

And then there was Tyki Mikk, who had always been known for leading a promiscuous life but, at the prospect of becoming a father, suddenly became a puritan who wanted to wait after marriage. His mood wasn't the best already, what with coming to mock his brother for becoming a prisoner of the Order only to become an accommodator himself… and when he saw his brother's Innocence, an admittedly nasty chain weapon with a sickle on each end, and realized all he had were cute winged insects, his reaction _wasn't_ pretty.

Of course, as years passed, Tyki learned to just deal with it. Innocence suited its accommodator's personalities, and though the fact that his refused to be anything but butterflies didn't speak well of his so called manliness, the exorcist managed to turn them into much larger, black things decorated with crosses and poker card suits, the once thin bodies between the wings becoming flesh devouring skulls.

The joke about a man who fought by invoking pretty butterflies had already spread through the whole Order by then, though, with even Sheril's little girl frequently mocking her uncle Tyki.

When she finally activated, at seven years old, and proved to have an equipment type black scythe so large it could easily be wielded by a fully grown man, the ridicule grew to insufferable levels, and she enjoyed invoking the vicious weapon and descending upon her enemies like death incarnate, while her uncle, as she liked to say, would shower his enemies with glittery defeat.

So basically, what they got was a bickering family of overpowered psychopaths. They had to deal with a deviant man who could walk through walls, a tyrant of a little girl who always made a mess out of people's minds, and a positively sadistic ex politician who insisted on living on the same luxury he had back home and could break people's bodies with his weapon as unflinchingly as he would any Akuma.

A malevolent Central inspector by the name of Malcolm Leverrier returned to his proper continent on a wheelchair after threatening Road for a prank or another. That was one of the few moments the Order had actually been grateful to Sheril.

xxx

 _February 28_ _th_

 _United States_

"Hey, boy. Hey," prompted the impatient redhead.

A groan could be heard from the mess in the floor. Cross kicked the sprawled form in the gut once more and heard another moan, but the boy was clutching his head, so the pain must come from there. On his forehead lay a… jewel, of sorts, and he guessed that was where the Innocence decided to manifest.

"Wake the hell up, you pussy," grumbled Cross, already done with this shit. He'd been having quite some fun when the one of the damned Innocence he carried decided to react in with the very worst timing, and it was with great regret that he left his friends to follow the thing around. "Wake up! When I was your age and activated, I was already shooting random stuff within less than a minute."

What could he say? He had been young and impressionable, and a loaded gun basically shoved itself on his hand. It was _begging_ to be used.

"S-stop that," the boy, about fifteen years old, whined. "My head hurts."

"No one cares. You are an exorcist… of sorts. Or you will be, after proper training." And though he would never, ever say he missed the twins, he hadn't had anyone to do the chores and raise money, lately. This one would have to do. He didn't seem insane, either, just a crybaby, and would have to be better than Jasdero and Devit. "Welcome to the Exorcist Trainee Program. What's your name?"

"Wisely… Wisely Kamelot," grumbled the boy, shakily getting to his feet.

Cross froze.

No way.

"Oh, no, you aren't," said he, but he couldn't deny the resemblance. The boy had Sheril's nose, Mikk's face shape, and the malevolent eyes of that little demon Road – though he looked sort of pitiful right now. There was also the light hair that had to come from Tricia, the only decent person of the lot. Didn't they say this brat was adopted, anyway?

"I'm quite sure that's my name," protested the boy, before wincing and touching his forehead tentatively. "Mm… I think."

"I refuse to deal with your kind," decided Cross suddenly. "Listen, what do you know of your family? Sheril, Tyki and…" he shivered, "Road Kamelot?"

"Those are my dad, brother and…" Wisely shivered, "little sister."

There was a mutual understanding right then, though Cross had to wonder how Road had managed to scare her brother before she was three years old.

"Well, listen, it's time for a family reunion," said Cross, shoving any compassion he could feel to the recesses of his mind where it was promptly triturated. It was a frequent habit of his. "Your family of exorcists await you. I'm sure you have missed them."

The boy stepped back. "Not really. I can do without them. I have a monthly allowance and am studying to enter university. I will be a psychologist," explained the boy proudly, with the contented pose of an airheaded teenager who still thought their adulthood would be rewarding.

"No Kamelot will be a psychologist," declared Cross, the very thought making him nauseated. There was no hammer nearby, however, so he grabbed Judgement and used the back of it to hit the boy unconscious.

"Goddamnit," grumbled Cross, reluctantly contacting central and informing them of a new accommodator. Now he would need to leave. Making sure a team would come to retrieve Wisely, he placed the kid on a comfortable makeshift bed made out of stinky garbage bags and disappeared in the nearest corner, whistling at the thought of having destroyed another young man's dreams.

xxx

 _February 27_ _th_

 _England_

Four days had passed since the retrieval of Cell Roron, but the Earl had made no move to contact him. His position as the Musician usually kept Allen out of battles, and he wondered whether these people the Earl wanted killed could actually hold their own on a fight. Considering one of those in the list was that curly haired exorcist, Allen supposed that was very much a possibility.

He sighed in relief at the possibility of not having to kill people. It was selfish, because someone would be sent to do so – most likely every member of the family but the Earl and Allen himself – yet he couldn't help but feel relieved at not having to dirty his hands with blood.

Being relieved of any duties, Allen didn't have much to do inside the Ark. It was an incredibly spacious space, yes, a city on its own right, and though Allen had lived there for years already, he had yet to explore even half of the place. Still, it was empty of anyone but other family members and Akuma, and he didn't wish to see either of them. Other Noah would either be displeased at seeing him or would cause him trouble, and the Akuma…

He couldn't bear to even look at them. It was somewhat of a joke there, he knew. The Noah who lowered his head whenever he was before his servants.

Wishing for some peace, Allen had decided to visit the humans, instead. It was a frequent pastime of his, mingling with other people – because yes, he considered himself one of them. Despite the many sermons on their natural superiority from the Millennium Earl, despite the many assurances from his family that they were the true apostles, the chosen ones, and whatever else… despite all of that, Allen felt he was nothing more than a human, albeit one with bizarre abilities.

Opening his door in the usual forgotten corner and dismissing it as soon as he stepped through, Allen allowed himself to mingle with the other citizens. His scar was, as per usual, hidden with careful makeup, but his hair he left as it was; thanks to his light skin and eyes, he could always blame it on albinism.

As he passed by well dressed men and women, merchants and policemen, he frequently got small salutes or smiles. He made sure to answer all of them but, as it usually happened, an uncomfortable sensation grew at the whole scene. The friendly gestures made him feel itchy and tense, only because they felt as fake as the polite smile he gave the Earl every time they met.

These were the same people who would scorn and even hurt his younger self.

Dressed in finery and looking like nothing less than a noble gentleman, Allen was shielded by his apparent financial condition. Having been deemed acceptable by society thanks to his pleasant clothes and manners, he could count on having a good day in the city, but those same amiable faces would become disapproving frowns should he present himself in a less than favorable wardrobe, or even disgust if his arm wasn't shielded by the long sleeves of his coat and his always present white gloves.

More uncomfortable in his little tour than he had previously expected to be, the white haired Noah allowed himself to leave the city's main plaza, walking absentmindedly through random streets. Or perhaps they weren't so random; this city was one he knew quite well, and it wasn't long before he found himself in places he knew intimately, only because years ago he had roamed these paths.

Not much had changed; some buildings had been repainted, very few were reformed, but the layout itself remained the same. It hadn't been such a long time, after all. Allen walked over the old pavement with a certain trepidation, remembering old times with such clarity, and his stomach clenched painfully as he wondered… was it really that bad that he had been taken by the Millennium Earl? He had to hurt people, he had to participate on plans that only caused others pain, but…

A low whine got his attention. Surprised, Allen turned to its direction, and found a box with a dog in it. It was far too skinny and shivered in the cold; it was hurting either from some wound or by the neglect its body was suffering; right then, Allen forgot himself, and what his aura meant, and raised a hand towards the dog, intent on doing something to calm it.

The dog's teeth closed over his hand and he gasped, pulling it back in a reflex. The gashes made through the fabric of his glove started bleeding, and he knew that only by changing into his Noah form would he be able to be rid of the wounds. By then, however, the dog had already left, its reaction proving itself to be more out of fear than out of anger. Allen stared with sadness at the now empty box, remembering, with it, an old friend of his, whom he had been separated from the day his Noah decided to manifest itself.

It was then that he felt it – something on the back of his jacket, the feeling of an object sliding out of his pocket. When he turned around he could see it – a young child ran away with his wallet, quickly disappearing in the nearest corner.

He sighed. He could very well remember doing the same thing many times – most of his 'income' as a child didn't originate from a honest source, specially in a city where asking would hardly get you anything. Allen was not by any means short on money, and letting the boy take it away wouldn't make a difference, but inside that wallet were his documents and he wasn't looking forward to asking the other Noah to provide him new ones.

He also knew any child of the streets would be able to disappear without leaving a trace if left alone for long enough.

Following the same direction the pickpocket had gone to, he tried to guess what path the child had taken, but though he knew these streets well, there were just too many paths the boy could have taken. Stopping midway and making sure no one was nearby, he closed his eyes and focused on his reference points. A map of the area appeared on the darkness in front of his eyes and, since he wasn't exploring kilometers of forest now, the details were more precise. It all looked like a drawing of the blocks nearby, white lines appearing before his eyes, and he felt for any disturbance. Detecting it, he smiled and opened a door.

Stepping through, he saw the child who had just stopped running and, with a huge smile on his face, started counting the many bills he had just gotten his hands on. Perhaps he would let the boy have the currency and only take the documents back, Allen thought, leaving his hiding place, but stopped when he detected movement in a corner.

 _Another person?_ Thought Allen, remaining still in order not to attract attention. When the stranger finally appeared, however, it shocked him.

How could it be? How could he have not noticed, felt it before he saw it?

Because before him – and the street child – was an Akuma.

He turned his eyes away, as soon as he saw it, trying his best to ignore the tormenting vision of the soul. He wanted to turn away, as he always did, but… this couldn't be any good. Perhaps the Akuma was just passing by, he hoped as he saw it move but, as it approached the boy, eyes darkened by hunger even in its human appearance, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Back out!" he shouted, finally appearing in front of the two. The boy jumped and, not understanding the situation, merely ran away, the full wallet still in hand. The Akuma cursed and looked like it would rum after the boy.

"I told you to stop," said Allen firmly and, now that the only other human was gone, his eyes shone gold. He forced himself to look at the Akuma, as that would only reinforce his commandment, and had to restrain himself from retching at the sight of the mangled, screaming soul.

The Akuma's eyes widened comically, and its menacing countenance quickly fell apart as he registered who he was speaking to. "M-master…"

"Don't go after that boy," ordered Allen, and the Dark Matter creature was mind bound to obey. _Don't go after anyone ever again_ , he wanted to say, but how would he be able to explain such a thing?

"But… why?" whined the thing pitifully. They always seemed like such fearsome monsters, unwilling to obey anyone but themselves, until a Noah directed their attention to them. It was incredible, the amount of power those such as Allen could have over the monsters that plagued humanity.

But what did that power mean, if he couldn't help the soul chained by the machine?

"Leave," said Allen weakly, not willing to deal with the sight anymore. He couldn't stand his cursed eye, that forced itself open whenever in the presence of Akuma, when he couldn't actually do a damn thing for them.

"Master?" It said, and it must be a level one if he couldn't understand such a simple order, or perhaps he hadn't heard it.

"I said," growled Allen, skin darkening and the Noah transformation becoming complete, " _LEAVE!_ Spare me your presence! _GO!"_

That was enough for it to comprehend. With a cry, the Akuma actually transformed, using its winged form in attempt to leave the premises faster.

Allen breathed heavily, feeling utterly frustrated and pathetic. He couldn't remember an outing that had gone so disastrously. Was it even worth it remaining here for any longer? He didn't even feel like looking for his documents anymore. His presence only seemed to bring misfortune to the poor boy, anyway.

"Well, that was about the strangest thing I've seen in a long while," commented a playful voice above Allen and the Noah turned around, quickly finding its source – a certain eye-patched older teenager, skin as grey as his own, golden eyes in a face framed by black hair and marred by stigmata.

"Yo, Allen," said Lavi, smile never leaving his face. He jumped from the rooftop to the street with easy movements, his strange choice of clothing flapping around him as he fell.

"Lavi," said Allen simply, his own golden eyes narrowed. Of course this day could still get worse. He felt Nea stir inside of him, and the musician's bad mood start souring Allen's own; Nea actually held an inherent dislike for almost every Noah in the clan, though never as deeply as the hatred he felt for Kanda's own, and Allen felt his left hand twitch involuntarily.

"What's up with this little scene? Is the kid a friend of yours, or something?"

"No," said Allen, hardly wanting to attract any more undue attention to the boy. "He stole my wallet," he continued, trying to explain his involvement with the whole situation.

"And so you reward him by saving him from Akuma?" asked Lavi with a raised eyebrow, and though his eyes were filled with mirth, Allen wasn't fooled by his apparent good mood. He'd learned that lesson long ago. "We need them to evolve – you're aware of that, yes?"

Fed up with Lavi's play, Allen turned away, already wanting to leave. This had been a horrible day for a walk, indeed.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," pressed Lavi, placing a hand on Allen's shoulder. Irritated – and admittedly tense – the boy refused to turn around.

"What are you following me around for?" snapped Allen, staring at the dirty street ahead of him, the grey hand on his shoulder feeling uncomfortably hot. And though he had asked the question, he almost knew the answer – and it made his heart freeze.

Lavi raised an eyebrow. "Can you really blame me? You are the one with the greatest secret, after all," said the boy with a smile, "you know I can't stand secrets."

Allen turned around so suddenly the Noah of Judgement couldn't react as fast as he could; Allen's left hand found its way around Lavi's neck, and the older Noah hissed at the burning it made. Lavi's large hammer was on his hands in a second but Allen already had the upper hand, and keeping his fellow Noah on a death grip.

"It feels too funny to be a normal arm," said Lavi with a smirk that was strange on someone whose life was being threatened. Allen's hand closed a little more, and the boy coughed.

"If you know so much about me," growled Allen, eyes narrowed to angry slits, "then why don't you tell the Earl as your duty demands, _Tryde?_ "

Lavi tried to speak but couldn't, so he raised his hammer. Trying to keep most of his anger at bay, Allen released him, jumping away from the hammer's range. It ruined the floor he had just been stepping in but, before Allen could consider that the start of a battle, the hammer was gone, called back by its owner, who raised both his hands in a surrender gesture.

"What can I say?" said Lavi, whose infuriating smile had yet to disappear. "Secrets are the more precious the less people know about them," he declared, massaging his burned neck. It didn't seem as if it would start healing any time soon.

"I'm not so foolish to the point of believing that. Do you wish to blackmail me?" He demanded. "If so, then give up. Being under your thumb, or the Millennium Earl's… it's all the same for me. I won't do whatever it is that you want."

Lavi snorted. "Well, aren't we angry today? You know what, I'll just leave you alone. But here's some food for thought: for how long do you think you will be able to play weak? You and your crabby illusionist friend? Things are going to get harder, much harder, and this war… you won't win it by staying on the sidelines." Lavi turned around and, as he did so, his skin turned white and his hair returned to that glaring red of usual. "So long, beansprout."

Lavi turned around and, in front of Allen's eyes, a door to the Ark appeared. Allen watched it dispassionately – Lavi was always so close to Dreams, it was expected the other Noah would open a door whenever he asked for it.

xxx

A/N: **Blueberry,** could you please clarify whether you think the jokes I made are already improper and offensive, or if you mean they are still fine but I should avoid making them worse?

(For some reason, your review doesn't appear with the others. I know this site has a moderating feature, but I don't use it as usually the reviews go through automatically after 36 hours... please know I haven't deleted yours.)


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